God in the Wilderness

Despite crossing the Red Sea and experiencing freedom from slavery, the people of God struggle to trust Him. They doubt and grumble throughout their journey in the wilderness. God’s character and power are on full display as He meets their needs and overcomes their enemies.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, everybody. My name is James. Excited to be with you guys. We have been on just an adventure going through the book of Exodus, really, right? It's like an action story that's in the Bible. Uh, one that starts off with Moses' crazy life and upbringing. Uh, and we get his calling out when he's out in the desert and this burning bush and these plagues that begin to strike Egypt as all the people are in captivity and bondage and slavery there. And there's just there's frogs, there's locusts falling, it's just chaos and pandemonia, just with these wild plagues. And it feels like we're watching a movie, really, right, as we go through this and study it. But uh to catch us up right where we're at, the people have been sent out of Egypt and they go to the Red Sea, right? They're getting ready to cross. And I want you to sort of picture this whole environment and scene and experience where you've been set free from Egypt, and uh there's some enthusiasm, there's some joy of just we're out, right? We're on the road, we're getting we're getting out of here. But Pharaoh has a change of heart and mind, and he sends out his army after you, and you have in your hands everything you own, yeah, your donkey, your sheep, your children, all of your possessions, right? You've got a U-Haul on your back, right? You are just a pack mule ready to go, and you find yourself stuck between this army that is closing in on you and the Red Sea behind you, right? And God does this miraculous uh work and wonder where the waters begin to recede and pull apart. There's there's wind rushing, and you can feel the cool breeze of the waters taking place right before your eyes. And in the distance behind you, you know that army is getting closer and closer. And with your possessions and your kids and your donkeys, you you take that step where you're going to now walk where there was once water, expecting the ground to just be a muddy, mucky mess that you're just gonna fall and sink into this. But the ground is yet firm enough for you to walk where there was once water, and you're going through this ocean, this sea that has been split, and the waves, right, would just be higher than any building you've ever seen at this point in time in history, right? And you're walking on dry ground in the middle of the Red Sea with kids, possessions, all that you have. You're blown away by what you're looking at. Because when's the last time anybody here ever walked through the Red Sea? Anybody? It wasn't last Tuesday, and they get to the other side. I don't know about you, but I would just be so relieved that that's done. I think there's an element where that's cool, that's amazing, but at the same time, you see some kid and he's ready to just splash on it. And you're like, don't touch that wall. We gotta get through this thing. And there'd be such a relief that you're on dry ground, and no matter what happens there, you are safe on the other side, and and you see that army that is that is fit for war and battle with chariots, and they move a whole lot faster than your kids. Amen. My legs hurt. When are we gonna be there? You're dragging them across. And you look back at that army, and they come rushing towards you. They I they've seen you cross, so surely they can get by, and and and supernaturally, as you step across, as the last Israelite makes their way across, the waves close back in, crashing down upon this army, wiping them out. I want to know how close that last person was when they stepped off of what would be wet ground. And you turn and you're looking at all of this take place. Blown away, probably in shock, a little bit of fear, a little bit of excitement. But at a certain moment, there's probably some cheering, some celebrating that's taking place. Not only are have you just experienced something supernatural and beyond any sort of human comprehension, but you realize you are free. And your parents weren't free, your grandparents weren't free. Four hundred years of slavery, and you're standing across on the other side of it. And so I'd be running through the group, high fives, cheering, celebrating, tossing kids up in the air. We're thrilled. And then they would eventually, right? Turn around. And they would go, Where are we going? Well, kids, we're gonna go camping. How long are we gonna go camping for? Forty years. I don't think that's camping anymore. And that's where we pick up. It's the beginning of a new journey, it's the beginning of a new era. There's there's no longer slavery. And as they're on the other side, and before they take those steps into the wilderness, into the into the wild, they begin to rejoice and celebrate. Rightfully so. Amen. They're going to sing and declare, and of course, I'm sure there's emotion in this, I'm sure there is even a sense of rhythm in this because they're singing this. I did not crack the code of what that rhythm would sound like or what key it would be in. So I'm gonna save you from singing these verses here. But they begin to celebrate, and it's not just emotions, there's there's clarity in who God is. They're they're declaring theological statements along with it. And we're gonna be covering an incredible amount of passages today, so I'm gonna do my best to kind of pull some some key points and keep us moving here. But Exodus 15 is where we're gonna be at. You've just crossed the Red Sea, uh, you're you're doing high fives. You begin to sing and shout and declare, and it reads this it says, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider, he's thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. It's personal. They're declaring that he's the God of salvation, right? If you don't know, the whole story of Exodus is telling this big picture that that Egypt represents sin and bondage and this world, and there's a saving that comes, right? We we learned about that over Passover and whatnot, but there's the saving that comes of God's people and sending them through the Red Sea and taking them where to a promised land ultimately, right? So there's this tension of of being in bondage to the sin and world, but yet being set free by God, and he's gonna take us somewhere that is holy and perfect, heaven-like, maybe, if you kind of get the picture here of what we're going for. But there's this this time period of of wilderness in between, but they're declaring, he's my salvation, he's pulled us from the bondage of Egypt, he's set us free. The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name, Pharaoh's chariots his lost, his host, sorry, Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them, they went down into the depths like stone. And your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, it shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries, you send out your fury, and it consumes them like stubble. Let's get down to verse 10. You blew with your wind, and the sea covered them. God, you control the wind, the waves, yet there's no army that can compare to you. They sink like lead in these mighty waters. Who is like you, O Lord among the gods? Rhetorical question. Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing these wonders? You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love, the people whom you have redeemed. They are just right beside themselves, declaring, this is who our God is, this is what he's done for me. We've been saved and set free by by his power and his might. He's purchased us. You have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. For our enemies, terror and dread falls upon them because of the greatness of your arm. They are still as stone till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass whom you have purchased. This is what we know you're gonna do for us. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which is which your hands have established. And they sing and they dance and they celebrate, and they declare how good he is. And the rest of the chapter says they bust out tambourines and they begin to dance. They're just beside themselves, right? And if you could join me in verse 22 here. And then Moses says, Alright, we've sung, we danced, we've talked about who the Lord is. And they set out from the Red Sea and they went into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days into the wilderness, and they found no water. And when they came to Mara, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter, therefore they named it Mara. And the people grumbled against Moses. We're gonna find out in the next chapter that Moses has made it abundantly clear that you're not grumbling against me, you're you're grumbling against the Lord. See, I'm just following where the Lord is leading us, and so if you're grumbling against me, your problem is not really with me, your problem is with him. And so they begin to grumble and murmur and complain to Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And Moses begins to cry out to the Lord, and the Lord shows him a log, and he throws it into the water, and the water became safe for them to drink. But take note of this: that they can sing and dance and celebrate and say, There is no one like our God. And this is the difference between that and them grumbling right here. One page. And it just so happens that in my Bible it's on the other page. In a lot of your Bibles, it's in the same page. They didn't do a chapter break there. There is six verses, you know, between these things. Between there is no one like our God, he is the redeemer, he makes all things good, he is glorious indeed. And let's grumble against him, saying, What shall we drink? Are we gonna die out here? Yesterday I was playing with my kid, and we built a little fort in the living room, right? Good times, if you remember those times. And I got this piece of string and I'm tying it kind of tight to give the tent, the top of it, a little bit of tension, make it, you know, stay firm where it's at. And I tied this knot, and she goes, Dad, you are a genius. I felt like a million bucks, right? You're right. I I can tie a knot, you know. But how long does it take for that to fade? My kid still thinks I'm a genius, so she's lasting at least one day. But you all know, right? That it takes one no to to an ice cream or popcorn or chocolate or a game or a stuffed animal, and it's you don't even care about me. You don't ever take care of me. It doesn't take long. For it to so quickly fade and shift and turn, and so thankfully, we get to talk about the Israelites and and not us today. But the question is, is why would they not trust him? Why would they not have faith that he's gonna come through? Why would they begin to grumble and complain not against Moses but against the Lord? That's crazy. He split water right in front of you. You walk through it, and you don't believe that he can provide water for you to drink right now? Like the irony of that, like, were you with us three days ago? 72 hours ago. You were moonwalking on the ocean floor, and you're worried that he's not gonna provide water for you to drink. You know, this whole story, right, or picture again is is from Egypt, they're saved and they're going to the promised land, but there's this wilderness period where we've received the blessing of being free from sin and bondage, but yet we're not yet in the place that's perfect and holy. And so we're stuck in this in-between time period where we have to trust that the God who brought us out of Egypt is going to sustain us in the wilderness. That though there will be trials and challenges and testings that come our way, if the same God who saved us, who sent Jesus to die for us, would do such a thing, then we surely would believe that he's gonna see us and care for us and meet our needs, right? But I'm not talking about us, I'm talking about Israel, right? And so could I ask you this because we're talking about them and not talking about us? At what point do you think you would have trusted God and believed him? The first plague that happens? Maybe the fifth plague, right? Let's let's really participate here, right? Because we got you guys and you're paying attention, and I know you are. At what point would you believe? After the first plague? Fifth plague. You guys aren't believing in God after the fifth plague. You guys are crazy. Tenth plague? Final plague, people are dying now, frogs are rolling in. How many of you guys would believe in God when you saw the Red Sea split and you started walking through the middle of it? Can you give me a show of hands? Okay, you guys require water- No, keep them up! Keep 'em up. If you can. Keep them up. It requires water to be split for you to believe, but at that point you're believing. Yes. Yes. How long for you to quit believing that? That it's the God that you can trust and you can believe in. One day without water, two days, three days? Apparently the answer is three days. But what about this? Let's say that happens. You don't have any water to drink, and the you begin to groan and grumble and complain, and the Lord speaks to Moses, and Moses sees this log and he throws the log into the water, and all of a sudden, boom, the water becomes sweet to drink, and everybody else is able to drink from it. The Lord miraculously makes undrinkable water drinkable water. And if you're wondering how that happened, they just crossed the Red Sea. So I think we're losing sight of maybe the story here. But you just saw that take place. So let me ask you, is your faith back now? Do you trust him again? I do. Yes. Chapter 16. And they set out from Iliam, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Eliam and Sinai, and on the fifth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt, and the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron and the wilderness. And the people of Israel said to them, Would that we have had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt? When we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Guys, they begin to grumble again because they're hungry, and they begin to complain, and they begin to genuinely raise the question: Would it have been better if we stayed in Egypt? Do you guys remember the stews that we had when we were in Egypt? Remember how good it was? They don't seem to mention that part. Do you remember the food that we had in Egypt? Again, there's grumbling and complaining and throwing it before that they don't trust, that they don't believe, that now at this point they're believing that God has maybe brought them out here that they just might die. You're right. God split the Red Sea so that he might kill you out in the wilderness. Does that make any sense? Of course not. But there's something about this life, right, when we're in the wilderness, and tests and trials begin to come our way, and we begin to doubt. We begin to have a lack of confidence and faith, even though we know some of the things that he's already done. We begin to wane and just begin to say things that don't make any sense. Do you remember the days of Egypt and how great they were? For many of us here, we've been following Christ for a while, but yet there's these times and these moments where we go, yeah, but do you remember what it was like when the way we used to party? And it's like, yeah, you're you're forgetting that that was ruining your life, but okay, yeah. You just desire, man, I wish I could I could drink and smoke like I used to. That feeling and that experience, yeah, that was ruining your marriage, but yeah, let's we could go back to that. Do you remember the days of being in Egypt? You mean when you were in bondage in slavery, before Christ set you free. Before you you had an awareness of the realities of good and evil in your life, before you you had confidence and a hope and an actual future of freedom and promised land with the Heavenly Father, right? Like before all that. And we'll reminisce of that. Whenever there's trial or temptation or difficulty that comes our way, we want to be free from really the ramifications of sin and being in Egypt, but we sometimes want to go taste and see and experience yet again what we thought was some of the benefits of it. They're in this sort of mode where they want to go back. They want to go and taste and experience yet again Egypt. And I guess the question that I would have is when would you trust God? Would it be after the plagues, after the Red Sea, after he made the water turn drinkable? But here they they again question God, doubt God, really defame his character, his name. Lord, you brought us out here just to ruin us. Church, I can't stress this enough that if God's willing to take you through the red sea, really willing to save you. That you might just have a miserable life experience. That you might just perish. If he sent his son to die for you, do you think he loves you? Is that not enough ever? Evidence to put trust and hope and confidence in him. What what do you believe of his character? What type of God do you think he is? I think of the Jim Carrey, Bruce Almighty, where some of us we picture gods this mean kid on an anthill with a magnifying glass. Wanting to make them burn and watch them squirm, right? The truth is, is that for these people here, it's so obvious that all of us here could be yelling from the other side of these pages, why do you not trust him? Why do you not believe in him? Why do you not put all your hope in him? Why do you not just celebrate him? Do you not see all that good he's done for you? And so again, we're not talking about you, but we would just say to some, do you not see how good and great he's been to you? How much he's provided for you? How many of you here had a little snack before you came in today? Anybody? You had some coffee? Thank the Lord for that. He's been so good. Any anybody here have to go through a life-threatening situation this morning? And I don't mean your alarm clock, I just mean like a real probably not. He's been so good. You have breath in your lungs, food in your belly, coffee is somewhere en route to, you know, working its magic. He's been so good, and yet we come up on these new situations and circumstances, and we stress and we worry and we freak out, and we're not sure he's got our back anymore. I don't know if I could trust him. And it's like, dude, you've been in the wilderness for a week. What happened to singing and dancing? I will praise him for he's my salvation and his steadfast love, and he's redeemed me and he's my strength, and he's taking me somewhere, he's established a place for me. What happened to that? It's a little bit of trial, a little bit of testing, a little bit of difficulty, and we just we perish and we squirm underneath it. And here's the goodness of God they grumble with the water thing, they grumble about the food, and this is what the Lord does. Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I'm about to reign bread from heaven for you. What? And the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day that I might test them, that they might learn to trust me. How much am I gonna give them? A day's portion. So that every day they go out there and they gather this magic bread that came from the sky. Anyone eat bread from the sky? Nope, me neither. And they're gonna eat it every single day. Every day you're gonna wake up and I go, I don't know how the bread gets from heaven, but it shows up here and I eat it, and I just have to trust him for it. Yep, every single day we have to trust him that he's going to provide and meet our needs for whatever comes on that next day. Because we are in the wilderness, we are not yet in the perfect place. And so, do we trust him in the midst of it? And he says, Here's what I'm gonna do. On the sixth day, I'm gonna bring so much, I'm gonna bring twice as much so that you can rest on the seventh day. On the seventh day, you don't have to do a thing. You don't have to gather food, you don't have to go out there, you don't have to put on your outdoor shoes. You could just hang out, eat your heaven bread, and relax. Enjoy your family, your friends, all that you have. Just exist. How glorious and great is it that our God has made it, that we might work for six days, that we might, you know, strive to do great things, work really hard, but one day a week, man, take that time, slow down, rest, rejoice, celebrate, realize all that he's given to us, that he's granted to us, and just exist. We're not gonna keep moving towards the promised land, we're just going to rest here. And I and the Lord is gonna provide how great that he will provide enough over those six days, and on the seventh we can rest. He says that so Moses and Aaron said to all the people in the uh people I'm sorry, of Israel, at evening you shall know that it is the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I want you to remember, right, that that the Lord is the one who brought you out, that he's the one that's going to care for you. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we that you grumble against us, right? Moses is like, I don't know why you're arguing with me. Moses said, When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat, and in the morning bread to the fill, full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling, that you grumble against him, what are we? Your grumble is not against us, but against the Lord. And so then Moses said to Aaron, Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling. And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud, and the Lord said to Moses, I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them at twilight, you shall eat meat, and in the morning shall be filled with bread, then you will know that I am the Lord your God, as if they don't already know that. Are we kidding? We kidding? They need raising canes to know that the Lord is their God, chicken and bread. Some meat and bread. That's how you know that he is the Lord? Not the plagues, not the water, not the Red Sea. It takes this moment that they might know that the Lord is your God. And in the evening, quail came upon them and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay on the ground around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. And when the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, What is this? Uh what is it? For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded. And he, you know, begins to tell them to gather it and gather the correct amount. Every day the Lord provided this flake-like, honey-tasting like little flake of bread, and they ate it. And manna sounds really close to how they would say, What is this? And so they named it manna. It's like, what is this? What is what a bread, you know, type of thing in our English version. What a bread. And the Lord provided that every day. And I want you to picture million people. A whole caravan of donkey and sheep. And somehow you wake up and there is dove, or not dove, quail for everybody to eat. That is the biggest, dumbest flock of quail you've ever seen in your life. That they would surround your camp. That everybody might eat. And there's these little pastries that are super thin. And they're there right outside your camp. And the Lord's like, do you trust me yet? Do you see I'm the Lord? Do you see that you are my people whom I've redeemed and I'm taking somewhere? Do you trust? And the people are so funny. Because he says, Don't take any more than what you need for the day. And what do they do? They take more and it spoils. And then he's like, on the sixth day, take more, right? For the seventh. And they're like, Well, I'm not gonna do that because the last time I took more, it spoiled. And so on the sixth day, they don't do it, and then on the seventh day they go out to get it, and the Lord's like, I told you not to. There is none. And no matter what, the people just they don't trust them. Why would you gather two when he told you to gather one? Because you're not sure if the Lord's gonna provide it tomorrow. And so they go and do that and it spoils. And they're like, Well, I I don't trust them that this stuff is gonna save. So I'm gonna grab it on the seventh day. Because last time it spoiled. They just keep reverting back to I don't trust them. I'm not gonna take a seventh day of rest. I got too much work to do. Do you see how expensive gas is, James? I don't got time to take a break. Gas prices are way too much, amen? That's that's a different point. But, anyways, I don't have time. I I I can't trust him to provide in that way. I've gotta I've gotta provide for me. I've gotta make my way through the wilderness. I don't like your God, I don't believe in your God because this place is difficult and there's trials and challenges. And he's going, would you trust me? Would you trust me? And so the question is, when do we start trusting him? After the plagues, after the Red Sea, after the water, after the bread, after the quail, when do we trust him? The people of Israel ate manna for forty years, having to each and every day rely on him. Can you go to chapter 17 with me? I gotta be brief here. All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of sin by stages according to the commandment of the Lord, and they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, Give us water to drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord? But the people thirsted for the water, and the people grumbled against Moses. And if they're grumbling against Moses, they're grumbling against the Lord. And at this point, if I'm God, I'm smiting these people off the face of the earth because I'm just so sick and tired of them. We have three chapters of the same story over and over and over again of God providing them grumbling, a new situation coming up, and God's just merciful and kind and gracious, but they grumble and they complain, and they literally raise this question in chapter 17 at the end of it, because I'm pressed for time, or verse 7 of this section. Is the Lord among us or not? They're still raising that question. And all of us who are on the other side of these pages looking at this, looking at the people of Israel, they go, Are you crazy, right? Do we all collectively say, Are you crazy? Because the Lord has been so good. He's been so faithful. How do you not trust him yet? Man, doesn't it look so good on somebody else? And so, uh, if I could just acknowledge this. The trials and the testings are so real and so difficult. Cancer, job loss, whatever, whatever's going on in your world, relational difficulties, your your adult children are just wreaking havoc on your life, right? Whatever it might be. The question is still, at what point are we gonna trust him? And the way this whole thing plays out is if you've believed and put your trust in Jesus Christ, that he's the savior of your soul and he makes all things new, he saved you from sin and death and the bondage and the slavery of Egypt. Jesus Christ has already done the work where you've walked through that Red Sea. And so, by your guys' own admission, I hate to do this to you, I set the trap. You all said, I would have trust and faith and confidence in my Lord if he parted the Red Sea and I walked through it. And so then I would have faith in the wilderness. There's the trap. We're in the wilderness. And God has done the miraculous work of saving your soul and freeing you from sin, shame, bondage, slavery. And we are in the wilderness, and the choice is yours. Will you trust him? And if you say, I'm waiting for him to provide this, and then I trust him, you are like chapter 16, where it's like, How much more do you need? And I don't think you'll ever have enough. Where you'll go, okay, I finally believe him. Because everything you need to believe in and trust in him, he's already done. The answer solution to this, uh, it's in the Psalms, but Jeremiah says it really well. Jeremiah 17, uh, seven and eight. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. The picture is simple. Those that will remain steadfast, those will that will continue to withstand the trials and the testings, the droughts of being in the wilderness, are those who are like a tree that's planted by a river. It doesn't matter if the rains don't come, it's got a river next to it. It doesn't matter that it gets really warm out because its roots are next to the river that's that's strong, that's steadfast, it doesn't worry. And so are we people who are rooted and grounded in that which sustains you through every circumstance and situation? Are you rooted and grounded and secure that you know who your Lord is and you know what he thinks of you? And so, yes, we pray in trials and tribulations, but we can pray with a confidence and not a fear and an anxiety. We're steadfast and able to bear fruit no matter the season, because of the goodness of really the stream that we're planted next to. What would be disastrous, and I'll close with this, because I love ending on disastrous. That's just such an encouraging thing to leave everybody with, James. What would be disastrous is for us to be Christ's followers, yet we continue to talk about the meat pots and the bread we ate while being in Egypt. When the Lord's saying, I have for you quail and manna every single day. You don't need to go back to Egypt to find life. You find life in me. It's stable, it's secure, it's not going anywhere. I'm faithful to you, I love you, I died for you, I'm taking you to a better place. Would you trust me right now? Would you trust me? So, church collectively, would you trust him? Take whatever gets you the most riled up and just trust him with it. Trust him. That's all I have for you. I don't know where to go from there. I'll pray for you. Pray for myself. That we would be people who are planted and bearing fruit regardless of the season. Amen. Let's pray. Deavenly Father, I thank you for your goodness, your mercy. The fact that in all of the grumbling, you still provided and cared for them. Jesus, I pray that we would be those who go through the wilderness of this life without grumbling and complaining. We'd go through it with trust, knowing that you will provide each and every day that which is sufficient for that day. We hand over uh the ideas of returning back to Egypt. Lord, we ask that you would help us to remain rooted and planted in you. That which is sure and steadfast. Jesus, I pray that you'd be near to the brokenhearted. You'd be the provider for those who are in need. You'd bring peace and calm to those who are anxious. Be with us, Lord. We pray this in your name. Amen.